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RAYMOND — Nearly a year after saying goodbye to their 19-month-old boy, two southern Alberta parents were stunned to learn they are facing criminal charges of failing to provide the necessities of life.

To police, it’s a case of parents who didn’t act to save their sick child until it was too late.

To the family of baby Ezekiel Stephan, the charges only drag out the pain they already feel with the loss of their loved one.

“There’s nothing in the world that will bring him back,” said Ezekiel’s father, David Stephan. “What good could possibly come out of this?

“What could possibly be worse than the suffering we’ve endured for the past year?”

The rare charges were laid Tuesday following what police called a “lengthy and detailed” investigation that began when the boy died in March 2012 and police were called to probe his death.

Investigators from Raymond RCMP and the general investigation section believe the child got sick in February 2012.

On March 13, the child stopped breathing and paramedics were called. The child was brought to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary but died on March 18.

“The parents knew the child became ill in February and then it wasn’t until March the 13th when the child stopped breathing that they activated the health system,” said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darrin Turnbull.

David Robert Stephan, 29, and his wife, Collet Dawn Stephan, 32, were charged with failing to provide the necessities of life.

The couple, who have been married seven years and have since had another son, had no idea a criminal investigation was ongoing and were “blindsided” by the charges, David said Wednesday. They had not heard from police after an interrogation at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in March 2012 that went until the early morning hours.

On Tuesday, they got the surprise call from RCMP, he said.

“It hit us like a ton of bricks.”

Anthony Stephan, David’s father and Ezekiel’s grandfather, said the RCMP’s claims that Ezekiel fell ill in February are “false” and that the child actually got sick only a few days before he had stopped breathing, at which point the parents called 911 for help.

According to the family, the child was suffering from flu-like symptoms. They believed it was a minor case of croup and Ezekiel was cared for at home but not taken to the doctor.

“They didn’t see the need at the front end because the boy really wasn’t that ill,” Anthony said.

He added the parents are health conscious, keep their kids active and don’t give them junk food.

“We don’t always go to the doctor immediately. If it persists we do, absolutely.”

The Stephan family has had run-ins with the medical establishment before.

Anthony founded a company called Truehope that sells a natural supplement that claims to fight bipolar disorder. Truehope won a legal battle with Health Canada, which had argued the company did not have the scientific evidence to back its claims.

He insists the family is not against medicine.

“If there’s any insinuation that they were withholding care from the child, it’s absolutely wrong. If they took a look at our records with Alberta health care, they’re going to see that we use the system.” he said, adding this case has nothing to do with his business.

“This is something that the family missed, no question. It wasn’t a question of avoidance at all.”

Father David Stephan struggled holding back his emotions when reached late Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, he issued a statement and questioned how Alberta Health Services responded once they were called.

“Like any other good parents, we attended to the matter and treated him accordingly to standard practices and recommendations like millions of parents do each year,” he said in a statement provided to the Herald.

Anthony said his grandson appeared to be recovering — his energy levels returning after a few days of “lethargy” — but quickly took a turn for the worse. His son frantically called him to say the boy was having breathing troubles, then called 911.

“Without being properly notified by 911 dispatch we took it upon ourselves to meet the dispatched ambulance half way on the highway. It took approx. 40 minutes from the initial 911 call before he was in the care of the attending EMTs,” David said in his statement.

“When EMT finally arrived, the ambulance was not equipped with the correct intubation equipment for our son, who could not breathe on his own,” he said.

“When he came, they didn’t have a heartbeat or anything,” she said, tearfully.

The Stephan family said it was later determined the boy had a lung infection, which led to a case of suspected meningitis.

“The EMTs who attended have indicated to us that they have been frustrated for some time prior to this tragic event, because they have been after Alberta Health Services to no avail to properly equip their ambulances with the proper intubation equipment for small children, the same equipment needed that tragic night,” he said.

Anthony also questioned why an ambulance wasn’t dispatched from Glenwood, which is only a five-minute drive to his son’s home.

Initially, the family had decided to “let it go” and not take legal action, because nothing can be done to bring Ezekiel back. The boy’s father questioned the value of “taking Alberta Health Services to task.”

“No money in the world could possibly fill that void that’s inside you,” David said. “That’s why it was never brought forward up to this point. Now it becomes a point of defence they failed.”

AHS officials said the medical superboard could not comment on the case.

“This is a sad event, and our hearts go out to those involved,” it said in a statement. “Given that the parents have been charged by RCMP and this is an ongoing police and legal matter, it’s not appropriate for AHS to comment at this time.”

Anthony said he wants an investigation with the province.

“I want an investigation. I want them to look into what happened here,” he said.

Ezekiel was the second-born son to the family and is lovingly remembered for his bubbly nature and his liveliness, Anthony said, showing off Christmas photos of the child. He said his grandson called him “Bubba.”

“He will be remembered and always loved for his quiet loving nature, his extraordinary love for soccer, his smiles that lit up the room and the hugs and kisses and comfort that he would give,” read his online obituary. “He will always be remembered for his love for his family.”

Anthony described the situation as “very tragic.”

“How do we feel as grandparents to lose a grandchild? It was terrible. The family has been through so much.”

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